Fit2Thrive

Big Hero 6 movie review by a dad of a 3 year old

Big Hero 6 was a film I wanted to see right from the first time I saw the trailer and one of the best things about having a 3 year old boy is that I get to watch kids films like this.

Ironman meets How to train your dragon

The way I would describe the film is as Iron man meets How to train a dragon. You start with a young boy named Hiro who is a tech nerd just like Tony Stark in Ironman and Hiccup in training your dragon. Later he meets Baymax, the big cuddly robot designed to protect him. All this leads to an adventure to defeat an evil villain with the kind of fun you would expect in an Ironman film made for children.

My son and I both loved it because it’s just plain fun. I’m never that bothered about an amazing script because I’m just at the cinema to be entertained.

The visuals are in my opinion stunning and now that I have experience of developing games using 3d software it gives me a whole new appreciation of the creative challenges these kinds of films present. It’s a big part of the reason I love these 3d animated films so much because as a form of art and creative endeavour I find them breathtaking. And because I can develop 3d applications I am looking forward to the time that I can develop something for, or even with, my son Nate. Just like I learnt to program with my father.

A father son experience

The joy of watching the film will stay with me for a long time because it was a special father son experience. We were killing time after work and I took him to the city centre to keep him busy while we waited to pick mummy up.

We had over an hour to kill and I was wondering what to do. When we parked up Nate steered us to the cinema and I could see he was itching to watch a film. So it was pure luck that hero 6 was about to start.

Little dude is still at the age where films at the cinema can scare him so I was finding the balance between letting him sit on his own without letting him feel alone. I ended up with my arm gently around him while he ate his popcorn. By the end of the film he was tired and the film got pretty intense so he ended up sitting on my lap.

It’s such a simple thing but sharing the film like this with Nate is what makes it so special. It’s the first time we’ve watched a film after work on a “school/nursery” night and the first time he’s been old enough that I could really just relax and enjoy the time with him.

Depth

What is often overlooked is how much depth good quality kids films have and Big Hero 6 gives me a place to talk to my son about bad people, bullies, the pressures of life without having to scare him. Its designed for children but explores very real and very adult themes which I find really empowering.

He watches a lot of older kids cartoons with more mature themes, like Batman and Teenage mutant hero turtles. Things I grew up watching but not at such a young age so I worry that these are a step too far. On the flip side I find that he is able to grasp some of the messages these cartoons convey as my generation did when we watched them.

The life of a tech nerd

So, I haven’t critiqued Big Hero 6 in any detail because I’m not good at that. I can just tell you that we both absolutely loved it and we’re planning to take mummy along next time.

As an introduction to the wonders of being a tech nerd it’s perfect for my little one. All the men in my family are tech heads so it’s his inheritance whether he likes it or not and the excitement I get thinking of the fun we can have with all these new robots and tech that exist now just makes these films so much fun.